An Editor's Appeal

$4,170 in pledges received, $10,000 to go to cover operational expenses

Dear fellow Mendo fan,

Thank you for subscribing to MendoLocal.News and for sharing our news with your friends and neighbors. In just five months, you’ve helped MendoLocal.News become one of the most-read news sources in Mendocino County. Your trust powers our work.

Thank you for joining us — and me, Elise Cox, MendoLocal.News’s volunteer editor and lead reporter — in our mission to deepen local news reporting in Mendocino County and ensure it is built on a solid financial foundation.

I want to give a special thanks to those of you who have also pledged financial support for our nonprofit organization. To date, pledges total $4,170, which is almost 30 percent of our estimated annual operating costs. (Mendo Local Public Media, which operates MendoLocal.News is a thoughtfully managed operation with that avoids unnecessary expenses.)

A quick note for current donors: We’ll begin collecting pledges this week. Charges will appear on your credit card from our fiscal sponsor, the Tiny News Collective. This ensures your donation is tax deductible.

Your support means we can obtain media liability insurance, pay for professional services like accounting, access court transcripts, acquire software subscriptions needed to produce our publication, and reimburse volunteers for their mileage expenses. These are essential ingredients that make strong local reporting possible.

But 30% is still a long way from 100%. And while we continue to actively seek grants and sponsorships from local businesses, we also rely on people like you — dedicated readers who support our mission of providing honest, fact-based reporting on interests vital to the well being of Mendocino County residents.

If you haven’t given yet, would you consider a gift today? While larger gifts ($100 and above) help us grow faster, we encourage small donations. Even amounts as small as $3 can bring us closer to achieving our fundraising goals and continuing our mission.

The fact is everyone who read MendoLocal.news gave us a quarter just once a year, our operational costs would be covered. For now, we are asking you to please give at a level that’s right for you. If you give more, we can do more.

You can pledge here on Substack or donate here on Monkeypod, an encrypted fundraising platform. Or you can also mail us a check via the address below — this saves costs on donation processing.

Charitable donations via check should be payable to “Tiny News Collective Inc,” with “Mendo Local Public Media” in the check memo or description line.

You may send donations to

Mendo Local Public Media
PO Box 362
Mendocino, CA 95460

Or

Tiny News Collective
#3868
111 North Wabash Ave. Ste.100
The Garland Building
Chicago, IL 60602

With gratitude,

Elise Cox,